During hydraulic fracturing operations, various contaminated aqueous fluids, such as contaminated hydraulic fracturing fluid, including water and one or more contaminants are produced. Managing such contaminated aqueous fluids can be challenging and expensive. As regulations become more and more restrictive, the level of contaminants (e.g., dissolved hydrocarbons, crosslinking agents, etc.) in a conventionally treated water may be too high to be discharged into the environment and/or efficiently reutilized.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a system and method of removing contaminants from contaminated aqueous fluids encountered during hydraulic fracturing operations, whereby a purity of the treated water can be reduced below a level needed for disposal and/or reutilization thereof. Desirably, the systems and methods enable recovery of potable water and/or the production of a reduced volume of waste material needing disposal.